Internationally renowned historian Professor Anna Clark will receive the University of Minnesota's Ada Comstock Distinguished Women Scholars Award at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, in the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs Cowles Auditorium. In her lecture, “Drink and Sex in the British Empire: Controlling Men or Controlling Women?,” Dr. Clark asks whether it is possible to control prostitution and alcoholism without infringing women’s freedom, using 1890s Auckland and Liverpool as case studies. Lecture free and open to the public. RSVP appreciated: z.umn.edu/ada2015.

Anna Clark has been a professor of history at the University of Minnesota since 1999. A specialist in British and Irish history, she is the author of four books: Women’s Silence, Men’s Violence: Sexual Assault in Britain 1780-1845 (honored as an ACLS E-Book in the Humanities); The Struggle for the Breeches: Gender and the Making of the British Working Class; Scandal: the Sexual Politics of the British Constitution; and Desire: A History of European Sexuality. Professor Clark paved new ground by turning her attention from issues of gender and sexual politics to the unexplored question of how sexuality itself might be a category of historical analysis. In doing so, she has become one of the most distinguished scholars of the history of sexuality in Europe. She held the Samuel Russell Chair in the Humanities between 2005-2011 and edited the Journal of British Studies from 2005-2010.

Dr. Clark is well practiced in presenting history to the general public. She has provided commentary on topics ranging from the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death for Eleanor Mondale Poling’s radio show at the State Fair, to discussing her book Scandal on BBC Radio, to discussing the history of sexuality on New Zealand radio.

The Ada Comstock Distinguished Women Scholars Award and Lecture was established to honor the scholarly accomplishments of women faculty at the University of Minnesota. In addition to the celebration of the scholar’s work via a public lecture, the awardee is presented with a selection of art created by a Minnesota woman artist. The award’s namesake, Ada Louise Comstock, was a University professor who advocated for women’s education, was the first dean of women at the University, and became president of Radcliffe College in 1923. The award is co-sponsored by The Office of the Senior Vice President for Faculty and Academic Affairs and Provost, University Libraries, and the Women's Center, a unit of the Office for Equity and Diversity.

The University of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Educator and Employer. For alternative formats, contact the Women’s Center, 612-625-9837 or women@umn.edu.